After he finished speaking, Mu Chen opened his eyes and nodded.
"Indeed, just as you said, Yan currently lacks a method to fully unleash the power of the Earth attribute."
"The Flame Lord is an exceptionally powerful Martial Soul with immense strength; while it is primarily Fire-based, its secondary Earth attribute allows for a balance where Fire serves as the offense and Earth serves as the defense."
At this point, the old man smiled and looked toward Shi Tie.
"Since your Martial Soul is the Earth-attributed Rock Demon Bear, once Yan promotes to Soul Grandmaster, you shall be the one to teach him how to wield the Earth power within his soul."
Shi Tie was stunned.
He hadn't expected the Dean to appoint him as Yan's personal teacher. He was, after all, only a Soul Saint. Within the academy, there were several Soul Douluo; he couldn't fathom why he was chosen.
The others looked on with similar confusion.
However, Lie's brow furrowed slightly as he fell into thought. Seeming to realize something, he stepped forward, bowed to Mu Chen, and said, "Lie thanks the Dean. May I ask whom the Dean intends to have teach Yan'er the use of his Fire power?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd understood. The Dean intended to provide Yan with two teachers, one for each attribute—Fire and Earth. The Dean was truly granting Yan extraordinary treatment.
After all, at Spirit Hall Academy, students are not specifically taught combat before they reach two rings or the age of twelve. When Martial Souls are awakened, the children are only six years old—too young.
Furthermore, many students still have a gap to bridge before reaching Rank 10, meaning they won't obtain their first soul ring immediately.
Teaching combat so early would be premature.
Beyond that, students in the early stages must spend time learning cultural knowledge, including geography and history, as well as fundamental soul master theory.
This includes common sense of the soul master world, basic cultivation principles, soul power control, and information regarding various soul beasts and Martial Souls. The sheer volume of information is complex, so this theoretical foundation is prioritized in the early years.
During their spare time, students are encouraged to cultivate on their own, experience their own Martial Souls, and sense the combat style that suits them best.
This is crucial for students to find their own "path" in the future; if they are influenced too directly by others from the start, they might end up merely mimicking someone else's road.
Only when they reach the two-ring Soul Grandmaster level or turn twelve will their class teacher begin combat instruction, usually in a one-to-many format.
If they promote to a three-ring Soul Elder, they advance to a higher class where new teachers provide targeted combat education and actual combat training.
Even during that period, one teacher is responsible for several students. Only those with an Innate Soul Power of Rank 9 or higher receive special treatment, such as one-on-one tutelage.
A "two-on-one" arrangement like this was quite rare.
The reason for this was simple: those with Rank 9 Innate Soul Power are almost guaranteed to become a Titled Douluo barring any accidents. While Spirit Hall cultivates many students with lesser talent, they place the utmost importance on true geniuses.
Hearing Lie's question, the old man leaned back in his chair, watching Yan in the distance. He spoke slowly, "Yan is your son. Having you teach him would normally be enough."
"However, you may not have much free time. Furthermore, while the Flame Lord and the Flame Demon King both possess powerful fire energy, their focus is different. The Flame Demon King emphasizes attack power and individual combat strength while maintaining decent speed."
"The Flame Lord, conversely, has outstanding explosive power; due to its lack of speed, it relies on frontal assault. Its Martial Soul Avatar is also a massive existence. Under these circumstances, he is destined to walk a different path than yours."
"I intend to have Yan Tai teach him that aspect. Besides, they share a certain fate in their names."
"Yan Tai?"
A look of surprise flashed in Lie's eyes, followed by a smile and a nod.
"To have Brother Yan as a teacher is Yan'er's good fortune. Thank you, Dean."
The other teachers stepped forward to congratulate Lie, seeing nothing improper about the choice. Yan Tai's strength and prestige were immense; he was the Director of the Power Attack System at Spirit Hall Academy and one of the most powerful combatants among all the teachers.
Moreover, he was of the "combat faction," having hailed from the Judgment Hall years ago, even earlier than Lie. He had eventually grown tired of the life of constant slaughter in the Judgment Hall and chose to join Spirit Hall Academy instead.
While the group at Spirit Hall Academy was abuzzwith discussion over the spar between Xie Yue and Yan, Ling Xiao's journey to find his first soul ring had not yet ended.
In the center of the Douluo Continent, at the junction of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires, lay a vast forest. Its area was comparable to the territory of either empire.
This was the largest gathering place for wild soul beasts on the continent—the Star Dou Forest. This was a place every soul master dreamed of visiting, as coming here usually meant seeking a soul ring to break through their cultivation.
Yet, it was also a place of great dread.
Not only were the soul beasts numerous, but they were also ferocious. Even in the outer perimeter, soul beasts of over a thousand years might appear, far beyond what could be found in the Soul Hunting Forests raised by the empires.
In a certain spot on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, trees stood tall, seemingly blotting out the sun.
Bright moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves.
Various plants grew on the ground, with Blue Silver Grass being the most abundant, emitting a faint blue glow that made the entire environment breathtakingly beautiful.
Ling Xiao lay on a patch of grass outside a tent, hands behind his head and a stalk of Blue Silver Grass in his mouth, admiring the moonlight.
He had spent several nights in the forest already, yet every time he saw this nocturnal scenery, he couldn't help but marvel at it. Such a beautiful environment was something he could never see in the outside world; it was truly enchanting.
It was almost enough to make one forget the danger.
Unfortunately, this beauty did not belong to humanity. Humans could only stay here briefly; they could never live here permanently. The soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest were quite hostile toward humans.
Aside from a few non-aggressive species, most soul beasts would either flee if they sensed a human was stronger or immediately rush forward to tear the human apart if they felt they had the upper hand.
To a soul beast, a powerful soul master was a rare, high-quality meal. Some particularly brutal soul beasts harbored an extreme hatred for humans and would fight to the death regardless of the power gap.
Over the past few days, the experts from Spirit Hall responsible for hunting his soul ring had been leading him through the outskirts, trying to find a suitable beast.
Their cultivation was profound; during the day, they suppressed their auras to prevent soul beasts—most of which didn't exceed two thousand years in this area—from sensing them and fleeing.
Though they encountered many unsuitable beasts that attacked them, with their strength, it was naturally a trivial matter. At night, they released their powerful auras, ensuring that virtually no soul beast would dare attack, save for a few brainless, savage ones.
The journey had been quite peaceful, allowing him the peace of mind to enjoy the night view.
Just then, a somewhat effeminate voice, sounding neither fully male nor female, drifted over. "Little Ling Xiao, you certainly are leisurely!"
A man dressed in magnificent golden armor and exceptionally exquisite, almost feminine features suddenly appeared behind Ling Xiao.
"We've come all this way to the Star Dou Forest to hunt a soul ring for you, and it's exhausting work every day. You, on the other hand, act like you're on a sight-seeing tour. We haven't found a suitable soul beast in all these days—aren't you worried at all?"